The aircraft were ordered by the Spanish Ministry of Defense to replace the Spanish Air Force’s Casa C-101 jet trainers, which is in-use since 1980. Leonardo was contracted by Pilatus to supply the electronics systems.

Leonardo’s multiband V/UHF RT-700/A communications system is a compact and lightweight military ETSO (European Technical Standard Order)-certified product. It provides voice and data communications in the 30-470MHz range and can transmit and receive securely when connected to an external encryption unit. Notably, the product provides ETSO-certified communications in the VHF ATC band (25/8,33kHz).